The Scottish housing green paper is a welcome first step for reforming housing across Scotland

The Scottish housing green paper, launched yesterday (31 October) is a welcome first step for reforming housing across Scotland.  Obviously, first time buyers and tenants are the intended real winners from the paper, with the proposals giving young people a real chance of securing a place on the property ladder.

Abolishing the Right to Buy on new build could also be a positive step encouraging local authorities and housing associations to build more, but we must be careful not to create again the single tenure problem estates that have been at the heart of so many social problems in the past.

I am also concerned the paper doesn’t go far enough in challenging Scotland's local authorities, developers and builders to increase the rate of new housing supply in Scotland.  While the government is moving towards a more cohesive approach between the private and public sectors working together, much more needs to be done.  The Scottish Sustainable Communities Initiative is a good start, but it seems to lack the real rigour needed to make any real and lasting difference to building sustainable communities.  

As Scotland, and other parts of the UK are increasingly driven by ever-rising public expectations, consistent and coherent delivery will increasingly be an issue. It is here, we believe that private sector customer-focussed companies like Pinnacle have a unique contribution to make.

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